Milwaukee-Downer College was a

women's college Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, in operation from 1895 until its merger with

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

in 1964.

History

Milwaukee-Downer College was established in 1895 with the merger of two institutions: Milwaukee College and Downer College of

Fox Lake, Wisconsin Fox Lake is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,604 at the 2020 census. The city is located within the Town of Fox Lake. History Established in 1838, Fox Lake was the first settlement in Dodge County. The fi ...

. In July 1895, Milwaukee College and Downer College merged to become Milwaukee-Downer College with Downer College's Ellen Clara Sabin as president. A new site was chosen on a tract of about ten acres on the northern end of the city of Milwaukee, halfway between

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...

and the

Milwaukee River The Milwaukee River is a river in the state of Wisconsin. It is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 Once a locus of industry, the river is now the ...

. Two buildings (Merrill and Holton Halls) were constructed, and were first occupied in September, 1899, when Milwaukee-Downer opened in its new quarters. In 1901 a residence hall for students in the college department was completed. According to the report of the state superintendent of public instruction for 1906 the college had 356 students, 32 instructors, and owned property valued at $354,787.Watrous, Jerome A., ed.
Memoirs of Milwaukee County
'. Madison: Western Historical Association, 1909, pp. 424-425. In 1910, the

Milwaukee-Downer Seminary Milwaukee-Downer Seminary was a private non-sectarian private school, private girls' elementary, junior high school, junior high and high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was separated from Milwaukee-Downer College in 1910 (prior to that date it ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

was separated from the College (prior to that date it was the pre-collegiate section of the College), although a separate corporation was not obtained until 1933.

Leadership

Three presidents led Milwaukee-Downer College from 1895 to 1964: Ellen Clara Sabin from 1895 to 1921,

Lucia Russell Briggs Lucia may refer to: Arts and culture * ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás * ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Indian Kannada-language film ** ''Enakkul Oruvan'' (2015 film), its 2015 Tamil-language remake, also known as ''Lucia'' * '' L ...

from 1921 to 1951, and John B. Johnson from 1951 to 1964. Under Sabin's leadership, the college established a curriculum emphasizing the liberal arts and the cultivation of moral and religious values. Two of the college's long-lasting curricular specializations were home economics and occupational therapy. The program in home economics was established in 1901, and the occupational therapy program was one of the first in the country, established in 1918-1919. Enrollment peaked during Lucia Briggs' tenure at 444 students in the 1946-47 scholastic year. Briggs was succeeded by John B. Johnson, a

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

professor with teaching and administrative experience at only one place,

Park College Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2023, Park had an enrollment of 6,389 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in 1 ...

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to the 2022 census, the ...

, before coming to Milwaukee-Downer. Under Johnson, the number of men on the faculty increased in almost every year, and the residence halls were closed to women faculty. Johnson also initiated a policy of hiring part-time, ''ad hoc'' faculty to teach one or two courses. Through the 1950s and early 1960s, enrollment declined in almost every year, from 278 in 1951-52 to a low of 176 in 1962-63.

Consolidation

In 1964, the college's trustees agreed to a consolidation with

Lawrence College Lawrence College may refer to: * Lawrence College Ghora Gali, a boarding school in Punjab, Pakistan * Lawrence University, a private liberal arts college in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, named "Lawrence College" from 1913 until 1964 * Sarah L ...

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

. The

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

was sold to the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

, and 49 female students and 21 faculty members transferred to Lawrence. Buildings and land from its former campus still form part of the present-day campus of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. At Lawrence, some Milwaukee-Downer traditions have been adopted, such as the assignment of class colors.

Notable people

Elda Emma Anderson Elda Emma Anderson (October 5, 1899 – April 17, 1961) was an American physicist and health researcher. During World War II, she worked on the Manhattan Project at Princeton University and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she prepared ...

(1899–1961), professor of physics, health physics pioneer, isolated

uranium-235 Uranium-235 ( or U-235) is an isotope of uranium making up about 0.72% of natural uranium. Unlike the predominant isotope uranium-238, it is fissile, i.e., it can sustain a nuclear chain reaction. It is the only fissile isotope that exists in nat ...

as part of

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

Helen Daniels Bader Helen Ann Daniels Bader (20 May 1927 – 21 November 1989) was an American social worker and philanthropist. She was born and raised on the Great Plains in the railroad town of Aberdeen, South Dakota. She became half-owner of the Aldrich Chemic ...

(1927–1978), alumna, philanthropist and businesswoman. *

Ethelwynn Rice Beckwith Mary Ethelwynn Rice Beckwith (January 7, 1879 – August 31, 1955) was an American mathematics educator. She held a PhD in economics from Radcliffe College, and taught for over forty years, at the Emma Willard School, Western Reserve University, ...

(1879–1955), taught mathematics and astronomy at Milwaukee-Downer from 1925 to 1947 *

Olga Bellin Olga Bellin (born Olga Bielinska; August 17, 1933 – November 8, 1987), also known as Olga Winters, was a Polish-born American actress who worked primarily in theater and television, but is best known for her sole big screen credit, as Robert D ...

(1929–1987), Polish-American actress, primarily in theater and TV, but best known for co-starring with

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

in the 1972

Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in for Lafayette County where he s ...

adaptation, ''

Tomorrow Tomorrow may refer to: * Tomorrow (time), the day after today * The future, that which occurs after the present Periodicals * ''To-Morrow'' (Chicago magazine), a magazine from 1903 to 1909 * ''Tomorrow'' (New Zealand magazine), a left-wing mag ...

''; graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1951."Here and There: Arena Players Fold Tent, Depart for Studies; To New York"
''The Rhinelander Daily News''. September 7, 1951. p. 3. Retrieved February 20, 2025. *

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dra ...

(June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She attended the school for two years but did not graduate. *

Emily Hale Emily Hale (October 27, 1891 – October 12, 1969) was an American speech and drama teacher, who was the longtime muse and confidante of the poet T. S. Eliot. There were 1,131 letters from Eliot to Hale deposited in Princeton University Library ...

(1891–1969), speech and drama teacher long associated with

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

Ellen Torelle Nagler Ellen Torelle Nagler (, Torelle; June 11, 1870 – August 14, 1965) was an American biologist, author, and lecturer. She originated a method of teaching science whereby her presentation of the subject followed a definite order of procedure; each o ...

(1870–1965), American biologist, author, lecturer * Emily Parker Groom (1876–1975), faculty member, creator of art department in 1902, American artist *

Liz Richardson Elizabeth Ann Richardson (8 June 1918 – 25 July 1945) was a volunteer for the American Red Cross during World War II known for being one of the four women buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Early life Richardson was born ...

(1918–1945), Red Cross volunteer and clubmobiler in WW2 * Margaret S. Rood (1908–1984), chair of occupational therapy program at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Louise Adelaide Wolf Louise Adelaide Wolf (October 20, 1898 in Milwaukee – November 14, 1962 in Milwaukee) was an American mathematician and university professor. She was one of the few women to earn a math PhD in the United States before World War II.Green, Judy a ...

(1898–1962), American mathematician and university professor.

References

External links